Organic layer deposition apparatus, method of manufacturing organic light emitting display device using the apparatus, and organic light emitting display device manufactured using the method

ABSTRACT

An organic layer deposition apparatus, a method of manufacturing an organic light-emitting display device by using the same, and an organic light-emitting display device manufactured using the method, and in particular, an organic layer deposition apparatus that is suitable for use in the mass production of a large substrate and enables high-definition patterning, a method of manufacturing an organic light-emitting display device by using the same, and an organic light-emitting display device manufactured using the method.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2012-0075142, filed on Jul. 10, 2012, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The following description relates to an organic layer depositionapparatus, a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting displayapparatus using the apparatus, and an organic light emitting displayapparatus manufactured using the method, and more particularly, to anorganic layer deposition apparatus that is suitable for use in massproduction of a large substrate and enables high definition patterning,a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting display apparatus byusing the apparatus, and an organic light emitting display apparatusmanufactured using the method.

2. Description of the Related Art

Organic light-emitting display devices have wider viewing angles, bettercontrast characteristics, and faster response speeds than other displaydevices, and thus have drawn attention as a next-generation displaydevice.

An organic light-emitting display device includes intermediate layers(including an emission layer) disposed between a first electrode and asecond electrode that are arranged opposite to each other. Theelectrodes and the intermediate layers may be formed using variousmethods, one of which is an independent deposition method. When anorganic light-emitting display device is manufactured by using thedeposition method, a fine metal mask (FMM) having the same pattern asthat of an organic layer to be formed is disposed to closely contact asubstrate on which the organic layer and the like are formed, and anorganic layer material is deposited on the FMM to form the organic layerhaving the desired pattern.

However, the deposition method using such an FMM presents difficultiesin manufacturing larger organic light-emitting display devices using alarge mother glass. For example, when such a large mask is used, themask may bend due to a gravitational pull, thereby distorting itspattern. Such disadvantages are not conducive to the recent trendtowards high-definition patterns.

Moreover, processes of aligning a substrate and an FMM to closelycontact each other, performing deposition thereon, and separating theFMM from the substrate are time-consuming, resulting in a longmanufacturing time and low production efficiency.

Information disclosed in this Background section was already known tothe inventors of the present invention before achieving the presentinvention or is technical information acquired in the process ofachieving the present invention. Therefore, it may contain informationthat does not form the prior art that is already known in this countryto a person of ordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY

Aspects of embodiments of the present invention are directed toward anorganic layer deposition apparatus that is suitable for use in massproduction of a large substrate and enables high definition patterning,a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting display apparatus byusing the apparatus, and an organic light emitting display apparatusmanufactured using the method.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is providedan organic layer deposition apparatus including: a conveyer unitincluding a transfer unit for fixing a substrate and configured to movealong with the substrate, a first conveyer unit for moving in a firstdirection the transfer unit on which the substrate is fixed, and asecond conveyer unit for moving in a direction opposite to the firstdirection the transfer unit from which the substrate is separated afterdeposition has been completed; and a deposition unit including a chambermaintained in a vacuum state and at least one organic layer depositionassembly for depositing an organic layer on the substrate fixed on thetransfer unit. The transfer unit includes a carrier including acontactless power supply (CPS) module and an electrostatic chuck fixedlycoupled to the carrier to fix the substrate. The transfer unit isconfigured to circulate between the first conveyer unit and the secondconveyer unit, and the substrate fixed on the transfer unit isconfigured to be spaced apart from the organic layer deposition assemblyby a set distance while being transferred by the first conveyer unit.

A charging track may be formed on a location corresponding to the CPSmodule in the second conveyer unit so that a magnetic field is formedbetween the charging track and the CPS module when the carrier isconveyed in the second conveyer unit and an electric power may besupplied to the CPS module in a non-contact manner.

The first conveyer unit may include a pair of guide rails that areformed in parallel with each other and guide blocks coupled to the guiderails.

The charging track may be formed in the guide rail at a portioncorresponding to the CPS module so that a magnetic field is formedbetween the charging track and the CPS module when the carrier isconveyed in the first conveyer unit and an electric power is supplied tothe CPS module in a non-contact manner.

An iron chuck adsorbing the substrate may be further formed at a side ofthe electrostatic chuck, and the substrate may contact the iron chuck.

The first conveyer unit and the second conveyer unit may be configuredto pass through the deposition unit.

The first conveyer unit and the second conveyer unit may be respectivelyarranged above and below in parallel to each other.

The organic layer deposition apparatus may further include: a loadingunit for fixing the substrate on the transfer unit; and an unloadingunit for separating, from the transfer unit, the substrate on which thedeposition has been completed while passing through the deposition unit.

The first conveyer unit may be configured to sequentially convey thetransfer unit into the loading unit, the deposition unit, and theunloading unit.

The second conveyer unit may be configured to sequentially convey thetransfer unit into the unloading unit, the deposition unit, and theloading unit.

The organic layer deposition assembly may include: a deposition sourcefor discharging a deposition material; a deposition source nozzle unitat a side of the deposition source and including a plurality ofdeposition source nozzles; and a patterning slit sheet facing thedeposition source nozzle unit and including a plurality of patterningslits arranged along a direction, wherein the deposition source may beconfigured to discharge the deposition material to pass through thepatterning slit sheet to be deposited on the substrate in a certainpattern.

The patterning slit sheet of the organic layer deposition assembly maybe formed smaller than the substrate in at least any one of the firstdirection and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

A magnetic rail may be on a surface of the carrier, each of the firstconveyer unit and the second conveyer unit may include a plurality ofcoils, wherein the magnetic rail and the plurality of coils may becombined together to constitute an operation unit for generating adriving force to move the transfer unit.

The first conveyer unit may include guide members each including anaccommodation groove, wherein the respective accommodation grooves maybe configured to accommodate both sides of the transfer unit, to guidethe transfer unit to move in the first direction; and a magneticallysuspended bearing that is configured to suspend the transfer unit fromthe accommodation grooves so as to move the transfer unit in anon-contact manner with the accommodation grooves.

The magnetically suspended bearing may include side magneticallysuspended bearings arranged on both side surfaces of the carrier andupper magnetically suspended bearings arranged above the carrier.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method of manufacturing an organic light-emitting displaydevice by using an organic layer deposition apparatus for forming anorganic layer on a substrate, the method including: conveying, into achamber, a transfer unit on which a substrate is fixed, by using a firstconveyer unit installed to pass through the chamber, wherein thetransfer unit includes a carrier including a contactless power supply(CPS) module and an electrostatic chuck fixedly coupled to the carrierto fix the substrate; forming an organic layer by depositing adeposition material discharged from an organic layer deposition assemblyon the substrate while the substrate is moved relative to the organiclayer deposition assembly with the organic layer deposition assembly inthe chamber being spaced apart from the substrate by a set orpredetermined distance; and conveying the transfer unit from which thesubstrate is separated to the loading unit by using a second conveyerunit installed to pass through the chamber, wherein the electrostaticchuck is charged by the CPS module while the transfer unit is conveyedin the conveying of the transfer unit by the first conveyer unit, theforming of the organic layer, and/or the conveying of the transfer unitby the second conveyer unit.

In the charging of the electrostatic chuck by the CPS module, a chargingtrack may be formed in the second conveyer unit at a locationcorresponding to the CPS module so that a magnetic field is formedbetween the charging track and the CPS module to supply an electricpower to the CPS module in a non-contact manner when the carrier isconveyed in the second conveyer unit.

The first conveyer unit may include a pair of guide rails that areformed in parallel with each other, and guide blocks coupled to theguide rails.

A charging track may be formed in the guide rails at a locationcorresponding to the CPS module so that a magnetic field is formedbetween the charging track and the CPS module to supply an electricpower to the CPS module in a non-contact manner when the carrier isconveyed in the first conveyer unit.

The electrostatic chuck may further include an iron chuck formed at aside of the electrostatic chuck for adsorbing the substrate, and thesubstrate may contact the iron chuck.

The method may further include: fixing the substrate on the transferunit in a loading unit before conveying the transfer unit by the firstconveyer unit; and separating the substrate on which the depositing hasbeen completed from the transfer unit in an unloading unit beforeconveying the transfer unit by the second conveyer unit.

The transfer unit may be cyclically moved between the first conveyerunit and the second conveyer unit.

The first conveyer unit and the second conveyer unit may be respectivelyarranged above and below in parallel to each other.

The organic layer deposition assembly may include: a deposition sourcedischarging a deposition material; a deposition source nozzle unitdisposed at a side of the deposition source and including a plurality ofdeposition source nozzles; and a patterning slit sheet facing thedeposition source nozzle unit and including a plurality of patterningslits arranged along a second direction perpendicular to a firstdirection, wherein the deposition material discharged from thedeposition source may pass through the patterning slit sheet to bedeposited on the substrate in a certain pattern.

The patterning slit sheet of the organic layer deposition assembly maybe formed smaller than the substrate in at least any one of the firstdirection and the second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided an organic light-emitting display device including: asubstrate; at least one thin film transistor on the substrate andincluding a semiconductor active layer, a gate electrode insulated fromthe semiconductor active layer, and source and drain electrodes eachcontacting the semiconductor active layer; a plurality of pixelelectrodes on the thin film transistor; a plurality of organic layers onthe plurality of the pixel electrodes; and a counter electrode disposedon the plurality of organic layers, wherein a length of a hypotenuse ofat least one of the plurality of organic layers on the substrate fartherfrom a center of a deposition region is larger than lengths ofhypotenuses of those other organic layers formed closer to the center ofthe deposition region, and wherein the at least one of the plurality oforganic layers on the substrate is a linearly-patterned organic layerformed using the organic layer deposition apparatus.

The substrate may have a size of 40 inches or more.

The plurality of organic layers may include at least an emission layer.

The plurality of organic layers may have a non-uniform thickness.

In each of the organic layers formed farther from the center of thedeposition region, a hypotenuse farther from the center of thedeposition region may be larger than the other hypotenuse.

The further one of the plurality of organic layers in the depositionregion may be from the center of the deposition region, the narrower anoverlapped region of two sides of the one of the plurality of organiclayers is formed.

Hypotenuses of the organic layer disposed at the center of thedeposition region may have substantially the same length.

The plurality of organic layers in the deposition region may besymmetrically arranged about the center of the deposition region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodimentsthereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating a structure of an organiclayer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a deposition unit of the organiclayer deposition apparatus of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the deposition unit of theorganic layer deposition apparatus of FIG. 1, according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the deposition unit ofFIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a detailed perspective view of a carrier of a transfer unit ofthe deposition unit shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a first conveyer unit and atransfer unit of the deposition unit shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a deposition unit of FIG. 1,according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the deposition unit ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a structure in which patterning slitsare arranged at equal intervals in a patterning slit sheet of theorganic layer deposition apparatus including the deposition unit of FIG.3, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating organic layers formed on a substrateby using the patterning slit sheet of FIG. 9, according to an embodimentof the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an active matrix-type organiclight-emitting display device manufactured using the organic layerdeposition apparatus, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explainaspects of the present invention by referring to the figures.Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list ofelements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify theindividual elements of the list.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating a structure of an organiclayer deposition apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a deposition unit 100 ofthe organic layer deposition apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the organic layer deposition apparatus 1includes the deposition unit 100, a loading unit 200, an unloading unit300, and a conveyer unit 400.

The loading unit 200 may include a first rack 212, a transport chamber214, a first inversion chamber 218, and a buffer chamber 219.

A plurality of substrates 2 onto which a deposition material has not yetbeen applied are stacked up on the first rack 212. A transport robotincluded in the transport chamber 214 picks up one of the substrates 2from the first rack 212, disposes it on a transfer unit 430 transferredby a second conveyer unit 420, and moves the transfer unit 430 on whichthe substrate 2 is disposed into the first inversion chamber 218.

The first inversion chamber 218 is disposed adjacent to the transportchamber 214. The first inversion chamber 218 includes a first inversionrobot that inverts the transfer unit 430 and then loads it on a firstconveyer unit 410 of the deposition unit 100.

Referring to FIG. 1, the transport robot of the transport chamber 214places one of the substrates 2 on a top surface of the transfer unit430, and the transfer unit 430 on which the substrate 2 is disposed isthen transferred into the first inversion chamber 218. The firstinversion robot of the first inversion chamber 218 inverts the firstinversion chamber 218 so that the substrate 2 is turned upside down inthe deposition unit 100.

The unloading unit 300 is configured to operate in an opposite manner tothe loading unit 200 described above. Specifically, a second inversionrobot in a second inversion chamber 328 inverts the transfer unit 430,which has passed through the deposition unit 100 while the substrate 2is disposed on the transfer unit 430, and then moves the transfer unit430 on which the substrate 2 is disposed into an ejection chamber 324.Then, an ejection robot takes the transfer unit 430 on which thesubstrate 2 is disposed out of the ejection chamber 324, separates thesubstrate 2 from the transfer unit 430, and then loads the substrate 2on a second rack 322. The transfer unit 430, separated from thesubstrate 2, is returned to the loading unit 200 via the second conveyerunit 420.

However, the present invention is not limited to the above example. Forexample, when disposing the substrate 2 on the transfer unit 430, thesubstrate 2 may be fixed onto a bottom surface of the transfer unit 430and then moved into the deposition unit 100. In such an embodiment, forexample, the first inversion robot of the first inversion chamber 218and the second inversion robot of the second inversion chamber 328 maybe omitted.

The deposition unit 100 may include at least one chamber for deposition.In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the deposition unit100 includes a chamber 101 in which a plurality of organic layerdeposition assemblies (100-1) (100-2) . . . (100-n) may be disposed.Referring to FIG. 1, 11 organic layer deposition assemblies, i.e., afirst organic layer deposition assembly (100-1), a second organic layerdeposition assembly (100-2), . . . and an eleventh organic layerdeposition assembly (100-11), are disposed in the chamber 101, but thenumber of organic layer deposition assemblies may vary with a desireddeposition material and deposition conditions. The chamber 101 ismaintained in vacuum during, the deposition process.

In this regard, some of the 11 organic layer deposition assemblies maybe used for deposition to form a common layer, and the rest of the 11organic layer deposition assemblies may be used for deposition to form apattern layer. In this embodiment, the organic layer depositionassemblies used for deposition to form a common layer may not include apatterning slit sheet 130 (refer to FIG. 3).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the transfer unit 430 with thesubstrate 2 fixed thereon may be moved at least to the deposition unit100 or may be moved sequentially to the loading unit 200, the depositionunit 100, and the unloading unit 300, by the first conveyer unit 410,and the transfer unit 430 that is separated from the substrate 2 in theunloading unit 300 may be moved back to the loading unit 200 by thesecond conveyer unit 420.

The first conveyer unit 410 passes through the chamber 101 when passingthrough the deposition unit 100, and the second conveyer unit 420conveys the transfer unit 430 from which the substrate 2 is separated.

In the present embodiment, the organic layer deposition apparatus 1 isconfigured such that the first conveyer unit 410 and the second conveyerunit 420 are respectively disposed above and below so that after thetransfer unit 430, on which deposition has been completed while passingthrough the first conveyer unit 410, is separated from the substrate 2in the unloading unit 300, the transfer unit 430 is returned to theloading unit 200 via the second conveyer unit 420 formed below the firstconveyer unit 410, whereby the organic layer deposition apparatus 1 mayhave an improved space utilization efficiency.

In an embodiment, the deposition unit 100 of FIG. 1 may further includea deposition source replacement unit 190 disposed at a side of eachorganic layer deposition assembly. Although not particularly illustratedin the drawings, the deposition source replacement unit 190 may beformed as a cassette-type that may be drawn to the outside from eachorganic layer deposition assembly. Thus, a deposition source 110 (referto FIG. 3) of the organic layer deposition assembly 100-1 may be easilyreplaced.

FIG. 1 illustrates the organic layer deposition apparatus 1 in which twosets of structures each including the loading unit 200, the depositionunit 100, the unloading unit 300, and the conveyer unit 400 are arrangedin parallel. That is, it can be seen that two organic layer depositionapparatuses 1 are respectively arranged at one side and another side ofthe organic deposition apparatus 1 (above and below in FIG. 1). In suchan embodiment, a patterning slit sheet replacement unit 500 may bedisposed between the two organic layer deposition apparatuses 1. Thatis, due to this configuration of structures, the two organic layerdeposition apparatuses 1 share the patterning slit sheet replacementunit 500, resulting in improved space utilization efficiency, ascompared to a case where each organic layer deposition apparatus 1includes the patterning slit sheet replacement unit 500.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the deposition unit 100 of theorganic layer deposition apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, according to anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematiccross-sectional view of the deposition unit 100 of FIG. 3, according toan embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view ofa carrier 431 of the transfer unit 400 of the deposition unit 100 ofFIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is across-sectional view of a first conveyer unit 410 and a transfer unit420 of the deposition unit 100 of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

First, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the deposition unit 100 of theorganic layer deposition apparatus 1 includes at least one organic layerdeposition assembly 100-1 and a conveyer unit 400.

Hereinafter, an overall structure of the deposition unit 100 will bedescribed.

The chamber 101 may be formed as a hollow box type and accommodate theat least one organic layer deposition assembly 100-1 and the conveyerunit 400. In another descriptive manner, a foot 102 is formed so as tofix the deposition unit 100 on the ground, a lower housing 103 isdisposed on the foot 102, and an upper housing 104 is disposed on thelower housing 103. The chamber 101 accommodates both the lower housing103 and the upper housing 104. In this regard, a connection part of thelower housing 103 and the chamber 101 is sealed so that the inside ofthe chamber 101 is completely isolated from the outside. Due to thestructure in which the lower housing 103 and the upper housing 104 aredisposed on the foot 102 fixed on the ground, the lower housing 103 andthe upper housing 104 may be maintained in a fixed position even thoughthe chamber 101 is repeatedly contracted and expanded. Thus, the lowerhousing 103 and the upper housing 104 may serve as a reference frame inthe deposition unit 100.

The upper housing 104 includes the organic layer deposition assembly100-1 and the first conveyer unit 410 of the conveyer unit 400, and thelower housing 103 includes the second conveyer unit 420 of the conveyerunit 400. While the transfer unit 430 is cyclically moving between thefirst conveyer unit 410 and the second conveyer unit 420, a depositionprocess is continuously performed.

Hereinafter, constituents of the organic layer deposition assembly 100-1are described in detail.

The first organic layer deposition assembly 100-1 includes thedeposition source 110, a deposition source nozzle unit 120, thepatterning slit sheet 130, a shielding member 140, a first stage 150, asecond stage 160, a camera 170, and a sensor 180. In this regard, allthe elements illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be arranged in the chamber101 maintained in an appropriate vacuum state. This structure is neededto achieve the linearity of a deposition material.

In particular, in order to deposit a deposition material 115 that hasbeen discharged from the deposition source 110 and passed through thedeposition source nozzle unit 120 and the patterning slit sheet 130,onto the substrate 2 in a desired pattern, it is desirable to maintainthe chamber (not shown) in the same vacuum state as that used in adeposition method of an FMM. In addition, the temperature of thepatterning slit sheet 130 should be sufficiently lower than that of thedeposition source 110 (about 100° C. or less) because thermal expansionof the patterning slit sheet 130 is minimized when the temperature ofthe patterning slit sheet 130 is sufficiently low.

The substrate 2 on which the deposition material 115 is to be depositedis arranged in the chamber 101. The substrate 2 may be a substrate for aflat panel display device. For example, a large substrate, such as amother glass, for manufacturing a plurality of flat panel displays, maybe used as the substrate 2.

According to an embodiment, the deposition process may be performed withthe substrate 2 being moved relative to the organic layer depositionassembly 100-1.

In a conventional deposition method using an FMM, the size of the FMMneeds to be the same as that of a substrate. Thus, as the size of thesubstrate increases, the FMM also needs to be large in size. Due tothese problems, it is difficult to fabricate the FMM and to align theFMM in a precise pattern by elongation of the FMM.

To address these problems, in the organic layer deposition assembly100-1 according to the present embodiment, deposition may be performedwhile the organic layer deposition assembly 100-1 and the substrate 2are moved relative to each other. In other words, deposition may becontinuously performed while the substrate 2, which faces the organiclayer deposition assembly 100-1, is moved in a Y-axis direction. Thatis, deposition is performed in a scanning manner while the substrate 2is moved in a direction of arrow A illustrated in FIG. 3. Although thesubstrate 2 is illustrated as being moved in the Y-axis direction in thechamber (not shown) in FIG. 3 when deposition is performed, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. For example, deposition may beperformed while the organic layer deposition assembly 100-1 is moved inthe Y-axis direction and the substrate 2 is held in a fixed position.

Thus, in the organic layer deposition assembly 100-1, the patterningslit sheet 130 may be much smaller than an FMM used in a conventionaldeposition method. In other words, in the organic layer depositionassembly 100-1, deposition is continuously performed, i.e., in ascanning manner while the substrate 2 is moved in the Y-axis direction.Thus, at least one of the lengths of the patterning slit sheet 130 inX-axis and Y-axis directions may be much less than a length of thesubstrate 2. Since the patterning slit sheet 130 may be formed muchsmaller than the FMM used in a conventional deposition method, it iseasy to manufacture the patterning slit sheet 130. That is, the smallpatterning slit sheet 130 is more advantageous in the manufacturingprocesses, including etching followed by precise elongation, welding,transferring, and washing processes, than the FMM used in a conventionaldeposition method. In addition, this is more advantageous formanufacturing a relatively large display device.

In order to perform deposition while the organic layer depositionassembly 100-1 and the substrate 2 are moved relative to each other asdescribed above, the organic layer deposition assembly 100-1 and thesubstrate 2 may be spaced apart from each other by a certain distance.This is described below in more detail.

The deposition source 110 that contains and heats the depositionmaterial 115 is disposed at a side opposite to (facing) a side in whichthe substrate 2 is disposed in the chamber. As the deposition material115 contained in the deposition source 110 is vaporized, deposition isperformed on the substrate 2.

The deposition source 110 includes a crucible 111 that is filled withthe deposition material 115 and a heater 112 that heats the crucible 111so as to vaporize the deposition material 115 toward a side of thecrucible 111 filled with the deposition material 115, in particular,toward the deposition source nozzle unit 120.

The deposition source nozzle unit 120 is disposed at a side of thedeposition source 110, and in particular, at the side of the depositionsource 110 facing the substrate 2. Here, in the organic layer depositionassembly according to the present embodiment, deposition nozzles fordepositing a common layer and deposition nozzles for depositing patternlayers may be different from each other. That is, a plurality ofdeposition source nozzles 121 may be formed along the Y-axis direction,that is, a scanning direction of the substrate 2, in the depositionsource nozzle unit 120 for forming the pattern layer. Accordingly, thedeposition source nozzles 121 are arranged so that only one depositionsource nozzle 121 exists in the X-axis direction, thereby reducing theoccurrence of shadow. Alternatively, a plurality of deposition sourcenozzles 121 may be disposed along the X-axis direction in the depositionsource nozzle unit 120 for forming the common layer, and thus, athickness uniformity of the common layer may be improved.

A patterning slit sheet 130 is further disposed between the depositionsource 110 and the substrate 2. The patterning slit sheet 130 mayfurther include a frame 135 having a shape similar to a window frame.The patterning slit sheet 130 includes a plurality of patterning slits131 arranged in the X-axis direction. The deposition material 115 thathas been vaporized in the deposition source 110 passes through thedeposition source nozzle unit 120 and the patterning slit sheet 130 andis then deposited onto the substrate 2. In this regard, the patterningslit sheet 130 may be formed using the same method as that used to forman FMM, in particular, a stripe-type mask, e.g., etching. In thisregard, a total number of patterning slits 131 may be more than a totalnumber of deposition source nozzles 121.

Here, the deposition source 110 (and the deposition source nozzle unit120 combined thereto) and the patterning slit sheet 130 may be spacedapart from each other by a certain distance.

As described above, deposition is performed while the organic layerdeposition assembly 100-1 is moved relative to the substrate 2. In orderfor the organic layer deposition assembly 100-1 to be moved relative tothe substrate 2, the patterning slit sheet 130 is disposed spaced apartfrom the substrate 2 by a certain distance.

In a conventional deposition method using an FMM, deposition isperformed with the FMM in close contact with a substrate in order toprevent formation of shadows on the substrate. However, when the FMM isformed in close contact with the substrate, defects due to the contactbetween the substrate and the FMM may occur. In addition, since it isdifficult to move the mask with respect to the substrate, the mask andthe substrate need to be formed in the same size. Accordingly, the maskneeds to be large as the size of a display device increases. However, itis difficult to form a large mask.

To address these problems, in the organic layer deposition assembly100-1 according to the present embodiment, the patterning slit sheet 130is formed spaced apart by a certain distance from the substrate 2 onwhich a deposition material is to be deposited.

According to the present embodiment, deposition may be performed while amask formed smaller than a substrate is moved with respect to thesubstrate, and thus, it is easy to manufacture the mask. In addition,defects due to contact between the substrate and the mask may beprevented. In addition, since it is unnecessary to closely contact thesubstrate with the mask during a deposition process, a manufacturingspeed may be improved.

Hereinafter, particular disposition of each element of the upper housing104 will be described.

The deposition source 110 and the deposition source nozzle unit 120 aredisposed on a bottom portion of the upper housing 104. Accommodationportions 104-1 are respectively formed on both sides of the depositionsource 110 and the deposition source nozzle unit 120 to have aprotruding shape. The first stage 150, the second stage 160, and thepatterning slit sheet 130 are sequentially formed on the accommodationportions 104-1 in this order.

In this regard, the first stage 150 is formed to move in X-axis andY-axis directions so that the first stage 150 aligns the patterning slitsheet 130 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. That is, the first stage150 includes a plurality of actuators so that the first stage 150 ismoved in the X-axis and Y-axis directions with respect to the upperhousing 104.

The second stage 160 is formed to move in a Z-axis direction so as toalign the patterning slit sheet 130 in the Z-axis direction. That is,the second stage 160 includes a plurality of actuators and is formed tomove in the Z-axis direction with respect to the first stage 150.

The patterning slit sheet 130 is disposed on the second stage 160. Thepatterning slit sheet 130 is disposed on the first stage 150 and thesecond stage 160 so as to move in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axisdirections, and thus, an alignment, in particular, a real-timealignment, between the substrate 2 and the patterning slit sheet 130 maybe performed.

In addition, the upper housing 104, the first stage 150, and the secondstage 160 may guide a flow path of the deposition material 115 such thatthe deposition material 115 discharged through the deposition sourcenozzles 121 is not dispersed outside the flow path. That is, the flowpath of the deposition material 115 is sealed by the upper housing 104,the first stage 150, and the second stage 160, and thus, the movement ofthe deposition material 115 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions may bethereby concurrently or simultaneously guided.

The shielding member 140 may be further disposed between the patterningslit sheet 130 and the deposition source 110 in order to prevent theorganic material from depositing on a non-film-forming region of thesubstrate 2. Although not particularly illustrated, the shielding member140 may include two adjacent plates. Since the shielding member 140shields the non-film-forming region of the substrate 2, deposition ofthe organic material on the non-film-forming region of the substrate 2may be easily prevented without using an additional structure.

Hereinafter, the conveyer unit 400 for conveying the substrate 2 that isa deposition target will be described in more detail below. Referring toFIGS. 3 through 6, the conveyer unit 400 includes a first conveyer unit410, a second conveyer unit 420, and a transfer unit 430.

The first conveyer unit 410 conveys in an in-line manner the transferunit 430, including the carrier 431 and an electrostatic chuck 432attached thereto, and the substrate 2 attached to the transfer unit 430so that an organic layer may be formed on the substrate 2 by the organiclayer deposition assembly 100-1. The first conveyer unit 410 includes acoil 411, guide members 412, upper magnetically suspended bearings 413,side magnetically suspended bearings 414, and gap sensors 415 and 416.

The second conveyer unit 420 returns to the loading unit 200 thetransfer unit 430 from which the substrate 2 has been separated in theunloading unit 300 after one deposition cycle is completed while thetransfer unit 430 is passing through the deposition unit 100. The secondconveyer unit 420 includes a coil 421, roller guides 422, and a chargingtrack 423.

The transfer unit 430 includes the carrier 431 that is conveyed alongthe first conveyer unit 410 and the second conveyer unit 420 and theelectrostatic chuck 432 that is combined on a surface of the carrier 431and to which the substrate 2 is attached. Moreover, the transfer unit430 may further include a film 433 formed on a surface of theelectrostatic chuck 432, and an iron chuck 434 formed on a side of thefilm 433.

Hereinafter, each element of the conveyer unit 400 will be described inmore detail.

The carrier 431 of the transfer unit 430 will now be described indetail.

Referring to FIG. 5, the carrier 431 includes a main body part 431 a, amagnetic rail 431 b, contactless power supply (CPS) modules 431 c, apower supply unit 431 d, and guide grooves 431 e.

The main body part 431 a constitutes a base part of the carrier 431 andmay be formed of a magnetic material such as iron. In this regard, dueto a repulsive force between the main body part 431 a and the respectiveupper and side magnetically suspended bearings 413 and 414, which aredescribed below, the carrier 431 may be maintained spaced apart from theguide members 412 by a certain distance.

The guide grooves 431 e may be respectively formed at both sides of themain body part 431 a and each of the guide grooves 431 e may accommodatea guide protrusion 412 e of the guide member 412.

The magnetic rail 431 b may be formed along a center line of the mainbody part 431 a in a direction where the main body part 431 a proceeds.The LMS magnet 431 b and the coil 411, which are described below in moredetail, may be combined with each other to constitute a linear motor,and the carrier 431 may be conveyed in an arrow A direction by thelinear motor.

The CPS modules 431 c and the power supply unit 431 d may berespectively formed on both sides of the LMS magnet 431 b in the mainbody part 431 a. The power supply unit 431 d includes a battery (e.g., arechargeable battery) that provides power so that the electrostaticchuck 432 can chuck the substrate 2 and maintains operation. The CPSmodules 431 c are wireless charging modules that charge the power supplyunit 431 d. In particular, the charging track 423 formed in the secondconveyer unit 420, which is described below, is connected to an inverter(not shown), and thus, when the carrier 431 is transferred into thesecond conveyer unit 420, a magnetic field is formed between thecharging track 423 and the CPS modules 431 c so as to supply power tothe CPS module 431 c. The power supplied to the CPS modules 431 c isused to charge the power supply unit 431 d.

As described above, since the power supply unit 431 d may be chargedwirelessly in the vacuum chamber by using the CPS modules 431 c and thecharging track 423, degradation of yield generated due to the occurrenceof particles when using the conventional linear motion (LM) system maybe prevented. Also, a possibility of breaking the deposition apparatusdue to the occurrence of harmful spark may be reduced. Moreover,reduction of maintenance costs, improvement of the producibility, andincrease in the life span may be obtained.

Meanwhile, the electrostatic chuck 432 includes a main body formed ofceramic and an electrode (to which an electric power is applied) buriedin the main body, and when a high voltage is applied to the electrode,the substrate 2 is attached to a surface of the main body.

Also, the film 433 is formed on a side of the electrostatic chuck 432,and an iron chuck 434 may be further formed on a side of the film 433.Here, the iron chuck 434 functions as a kind of adsorption plate thatadsorbs the substrate 2 attached to the electrostatic chuck 432 due tothe high voltage applied to the electrostatic chuck 432 so as to stablyfix the substrate 2.

Next, operations of the transfer unit 430 will be described below inmore detail.

The LMS magnet 431 b of the main body part 431 a and the coil 411 may becombined with each other to constitute an operation unit. In thisregard, the operation unit may be a linear motor. The linear motor has asmall frictional coefficient, little position error, and a very highdegree of position determination, as compared to a conventional slideguide system. As described above, the linear motor may include the coil411 and the LMS magnet 431 b. The LMS magnet 431 b is linearly disposedon the carrier 431, and a plurality of the coils 411 may be disposed atan inner side of the chamber 101 by a certain distance so as to face theLMS magnet 431 b. Since the LMS magnet 431 b is disposed on the carrier431 instead of the coil 411, the carrier 431 may be operable withoutpower being supplied thereto. In this regard, the coil 411 may be formedin an atmosphere (ATM) box. The LMS magnet 431 b is attached to thecarrier 431 so that the carrier 431 may proceed within the vacuumchamber 101.

Next, the first conveyer unit 410 and the transfer unit 430 will bedescribed in more detail below.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, the first conveyer unit 410 conveys theelectrostatic chuck 432 that fixes the substrate 2 and conveys thecarrier 431 that conveys the electrostatic chuck 432. In this regard,the first conveyer unit 410 includes the coil 411, the guide members412, the upper magnetically suspended bearings 413, the sidemagnetically suspended bearings 414, and the gap sensors 415 and 416.

The coil 411 and the guide members 412 are formed inside the upperhousing 104. The coil 411 is formed in an upper portion of the upperhousing 104, and the guide members 412 are respectively formed on bothinner sides of the upper housing 104.

The guide members 412 guide the carrier 431 to move in a direction. Inthis regard, the guide members 412 are formed to pass through thedeposition unit 100.

In particular, the guide members 412 accommodate both sides of thecarrier 431 to guide the carrier 431 to move along in the direction ofarrow A illustrated in FIG. 3. In this regard, the guide member 412 mayinclude a first accommodation part 412 a disposed below the carrier 431,a second accommodation part 412 b disposed above the carrier 431, and aconnection part 412 c that connects the first accommodation part 412 aand the second accommodation part 412 b. An accommodation groove 412 dis formed by the first accommodation part 412 a, the secondaccommodation part 412 b, and the connection part 412 c. Both sides ofthe carrier 431 are respectively accommodated in the accommodationgrooves 412 d, and the carrier 431 is moved along the accommodationgrooves 412 d.

The side magnetically suspended bearings 414 are each disposed in theconnection part 412 c of the guide member 412 so as to respectivelycorrespond to both sides of the carrier 431. The side magneticallysuspended bearings 414 cause a distance between the carrier 431 and theguide member 412 so that the carrier 431 is moved along the guidemembers 412 in non-contact with the guide members 412. That is, arepulsive force R1 occurring between the side magnetically suspendedbearing 414 on the left side and the carrier 431, which is a magneticmaterial, and a repulsive force R2 occurring between the sidemagnetically suspended bearing 414 on the right side and the carrier431, which is a magnetic material, maintain equilibrium, and thus, thereis a constant distance between the carrier 431 and the respective partsof the guide member 412.

Each upper magnetically suspended bearing 413 may be disposed in thesecond accommodation part 412 b so as to be above the carrier 431. Theupper magnetically suspended bearings 413 enable the carrier 431 to bemoved along the guide members 412 in non-contact with the first andsecond accommodation parts 412 a and 412 b and with a distancetherebetween maintained constant. That is, an attractive force A3occurring between the upper magnetically suspended bearing 413 and thecarrier 431, which is a magnetic material, and gravity G maintainequilibrium, and thus, there is a constant distance between the carrier431 and the respective parts 412 a and 412 b of the guide members 412.

Each guide member 412 may further include the gap sensor 415. The gapsensor 415 may measure a distance between the carrier 431 and the guidemember 412. Also, the gap sensor 416 may be disposed at a side of theside magnetically suspended bearing 414. The gap sensor 416 may measurea distance between a side surface of the carrier 431 and the sidemagnetically suspended bearing 414.

Magnetic forces of the upper and side magnetically suspended bearings413 and 414 may vary according to values measured by the gap sensors 415and 146, and thus, distances between the carrier 431 and the respectiveguide members 412 may be adjusted in real time. That is, a precisetransfer of the carrier 431 may be feedback controlled using the upperand side magnetically suspended bearings 413 and 414 and the gap sensors415 and 416.

Hereinafter, the second conveyer unit 420 and the transfer unit 430 aredescribed in more detail.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the second conveyer unit 420 returns theelectrostatic chuck 432 from which the substrate 2 has been separated inthe unloading unit 300 and the carrier 431 that carries theelectrostatic chuck 432 to the loading unit 200. In this regard, thesecond conveyer unit 420 includes the coil 421, the roller guides 422,and the charging track 423.

In particular, the coil 421, the roller guides 422, and the chargingtrack 423 may be positioned inside the lower housing 103. The coil 421and the charging track 423 may be disposed on a top inner surface of thelower housing 103, and the roller guides 422 may be disposed on bothinner sides of the lower housing 103. Here, the coil 421 may be disposedin an ATM box, as the coil 411 of the first conveyer unit 410.

Like the first conveyer unit 410, the second conveyer unit 420 mayinclude the coil 421. Also, the LMS magnet 431 b of the main body part431 a of the carrier 431 and the coil 421 are combined with each otherto constitute an operation unit. In this regard, the operation unit maybe a linear motor. The carrier 431 may be moved by the linear motoralong a direction opposite to the direction of arrow A illustrated inFIG. 3.

The roller guides 422 guide the carrier 431 to move in a direction. Inthis regard, the roller guides 422 are formed to pass through thedeposition unit 100.

The second conveyer unit 420 is used in a process of returning thecarrier 431 from which the substrate 2 has been separated and not in aprocess of depositing an organic material on the substrate 2, and thus,position accuracy thereof is not needed as by the first conveyer unit410. Therefore, magnetic suspension is applied to the first conveyerunit 410 that requires high position accuracy, thereby obtainingposition accuracy, and a conventional roller method is applied to thesecond conveyer unit 420 that requires relatively low position accuracy,thereby reducing manufacturing costs and simplifying a structure of theorganic layer deposition apparatus. Although not illustrated in FIG. 4,the magnetic suspension may also be applied to the second conveyer unit420 as in the first conveyer unit 410.

The organic layer deposition assembly 100-1 of the organic layerdeposition apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment may furtherinclude the camera 170 and the sensor 180 for an aligning process. Thecamera 170 may align in real time a first alignment mark (not shown)formed in the frame 135 of the patterning slit sheet 130 and a secondalignment mark (not shown) formed on the substrate 2. In addition, thesensor 180 may be a confocal sensor. As described above, since adistance between the substrate 2 and the patterning slit sheet 130 ismeasurable in real time using the camera 170 and the sensor 180, thesubstrate 2 may be aligned with the patterning slit sheet 130 in realtime, whereby position accuracy of a pattern may be significantlyimproved.

Hereinafter, the deposition unit 100 according to another embodiment ofthe present invention will be described below.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the deposition unit 100 ofFIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the depositionunit 100 of FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, according to the present embodiment, guides412′ of the first conveyer unit 410 and the carrier 431 of the transferunit 430 are different from those of the previous embodiment, which willbe described in detail below.

The first conveyer unit 410 conveys in an in-line manner the transferunit 430, including the carrier 431 and an electrostatic chuck 432attached thereto, and the substrate 2 attached to the transfer unit 430so that an organic layer may be formed on the substrate 2 by the organiclayer deposition assembly 100-1. The first conveyer unit 410 includes acoil 411, guide rails 412′, upper magnetically suspended bearings 413,side magnetically suspended bearings 414, and gap sensors 415 and 416.

The second conveyer unit 420 returns to the loading unit 200 thetransfer unit 430 from which the substrate 2 has been separated in theunloading unit 300 after one deposition cycle is completed while thetransfer unit 430 is passing through the deposition unit 100. The secondconveyer unit 420 includes a coil 421, roller guides 422′, and acharging track 423.

The transfer unit 430 includes the carrier 431 that is conveyed alongthe first conveyer unit 410 and the second conveyer unit 420 and theelectrostatic chuck 432 that is combined on a surface of the carrier 431and to which the substrate 2 is attached. Moreover, the transfer unit430 may further include the film 433 formed on a surface of theelectrostatic chuck 432, and the iron chuck 434 formed at a side of thefilm 433.

Here, the guide members 412′ of the first conveyer unit 410 are formedas guide rails, and the carrier 431 of the transfer unit 430 includesguide blocks 431 e′ that are coupled to the guide members 412.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the deposition is performedwhen the electrostatic chuck to which the substrate is fixed moveslinearly in the chamber. In this case, if the electrostatic chuck isconveyed by a conventional roller or a conveyer, the position accuracyof the substrate degrades, and if the magnetic suspension method is usedshown in FIGS. 3 and 4, manufacturing costs of the deposition apparatusincrease. Thus, in the present embodiment, a linear motion systemincluding the guide rails and the guide blocks is applied in order toconvey the substrate accurately while manufacturing the depositionapparatus easily.

In particular, inner surfaces of the upper housing 104 are formed asflat, and a pair of guide rails 412′ are formed on the inner surface ofthe upper housing 104. Also, the guide blocks 431 e′ are inserted in theguide rails 412′ so as to reciprocate along the guide rails 412′.

Although not shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the charging track may be furtherformed in the guide rails 412′. That is, in a state where the CPS module431 c is disposed on at least one of opposite edges of the main bodypart 431 a, that is, on a region where the guide rails 412′ are formed,the charging track (not shown) may be formed in the guide rails 412′.Then, when the carrier 431 is conveyed in the first conveyer unit 410, amagnetic field is formed between the charging track (not shown) and theCPS module 431 c so as to supply electric power to the CPS module 431 cin a non-contact manner. That is, when the transfer unit 430 is conveyedin the first conveyer unit 410, the power supply unit 431 d may becharged.

Hereinafter, a structure of an organic layer formed using the organiclayer deposition apparatus 1 described above is described in moredetail.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a structure in which the patterningslits 131 are arranged at equal intervals in the patterning slit sheet130 of the organic layer deposition apparatus 1, according to anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustratingorganic layers formed on the substrate 2 by using the patterning slitsheet 130 of FIG. 9, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the patterning slit sheet 130 in which thepatterning slits 131 are arranged at equal intervals. That is, in FIG.9, the patterning slits 131 satisfy the following condition:I₁=I₂=I₃=I₄.

In this embodiment, an incident angle of a deposition materialdischarged along a center line C of a deposition space S issubstantially perpendicular to the substrate 2. Thus, an organic layerP₁ formed using the deposition material that has passed through apatterning slit 131 a has a minimum size of a shadow, and a right-sideshadow SR₁ and a left-side shadow SL₁ are formed symmetrical to eachother.

However, a critical incident angle θ of the deposition material thatpasses through patterning slits disposed farther from the center line Cof the deposition space S gradually increases, and thus, the criticalincident angle θ of the deposition material that passes through theoutermost patterning slit 131 e is approximately 55°. Accordingly, thedeposition material is incident at an inclination with respect to thepatterning slit 131 e, and an organic layer P₅ formed using thedeposition material that has passed through the patterning slit 131 ehas the largest shadow. In particular, a left-side shadow SR₅ is largerthan a right-side shadow SR₅.

That is, as the critical incident angle θ of the deposition materialincreases, the size of the shadow also increases. In particular, thesize of the shadow at a position farther from the center line C of thedeposition space S increases. In addition, the critical incident angle θof the deposition material increases as a distance between the centerline C of the deposition space S and the respective patterning slitsincreases. Thus, organic layers formed using the deposition materialthat passes through the patterning slits disposed farther from thecenter line C of the deposition space S have a larger shadow size. Inparticular, of the shadows on both sides of the respective organiclayers, the size of the shadow at a position farther from the centerline C of the deposition space S is larger than that of the other.

That is, referring to FIG. 10, the organic layers formed on the leftside of the center line C of the deposition space S have a structure inwhich a left hypotenuse is larger than a right hypotenuse, and theorganic layers formed on the right side of the center line C of thedeposition space S have a structure in which a right hypotenuse islarger than a left hypotenuse.

Also, in the organic layers formed on the left side of the center line Cof the deposition space S, the length of the left hypotenuse increasestowards the left. In the organic layers formed on the right side of thecenter line C of the deposition space S, the length of the righthypotenuse increases towards the right. Consequently, the organic layersformed in the deposition space S may be formed symmetrical to each otherabout the center line C of the deposition space S.

This structure will now be described in more detail.

The deposition material that passes through a patterning slit 131 bpasses through the patterning slit 131 b at a critical incident angle ofθ_(b), and an organic layer P₂ formed using the deposition material thathas passed through the patterning slit 131 b has a left-side shadowhaving a size of SL₂. Similarly, the deposition material that passesthrough a patterning slit 131 c passes through the patterning slit 131 cat a critical incident angle of θ_(c), and an organic layer P₃ formedusing the deposition material that has passed through the patterningslit 131 c has a left-side shadow having a size of SL₃. Similarly, thedeposition material that passes through a patterning slit 131 d passesthrough the patterning slit 131 d at a critical incident angle of θ_(d),and an organic layer P₄ formed using the deposition material that haspassed through the patterning slit 131 d has a left-side shadow having asize of SL₄. Similarly, the deposition material that passes through thepatterning slit 131 e passes through the patterning slit 131 e at acritical incident angle of θ_(e), and an organic layer P₅ formed usingthe deposition material that has passed through the patterning slit 131e has a left-side shadow having a size of SL₅.

In this regard, the critical incident angles satisfy the followingcondition: θ_(b)<θ_(c)<θ_(d)<θ_(e), and thus, the sizes of the shadowsof the organic layers also satisfy the following condition:SL₁<SL₂<SL₃<SL₄<SL₅.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an active matrix-type organiclight-emitting display device manufactured using the organic layerdeposition apparatus 1, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 11, the active matrix organic light-emitting displaydevice 10 according to the current embodiment is formed on the substrate2. The substrate 2 may be formed of a transparent material, for example,glass, plastic, or metal. An insulating layer 31, such as a bufferlayer, is formed on an entire surface of the substrate 2.

A thin film transistor (TFT) 40, a capacitor 50, and an organiclight-emitting diode (OLED) 60 are disposed on the insulating layer 31,as illustrated in FIG. 11.

A semiconductor active layer 41 is formed on an upper surface of theinsulating layer 31 in a set or predetermined pattern. A gate insulatinglayer 32 is formed to cover the semiconductor active layer 41. Thesemiconductor active layer 41 may include a p-type or n-typesemiconductor material.

A gate electrode 42 of the TFT 40 is formed in a region of the gateinsulating layer 32 corresponding to the semiconductor active layer 41.An interlayer insulating layer 33 is formed to cover the gate electrode42. The interlayer insulating layer 33 and the gate insulating layer 32are etched by, for example, dry etching, to form a contact hole exposingparts of the semiconductor active layer 41.

Source/drain electrodes 43 are formed on the interlayer insulating layer33 to contact the semiconductor active layer 41 through the contacthole. A passivation layer 34 is formed to cover the source/drainelectrodes 43, and is etched to expose a part of one of the source/drainelectrodes 43. An insulating layer (not shown) may be further formed onthe passivation layer 34 so as to planarize the passivation layer 34.

In addition, the OLED 60 displays set or predetermined image informationby emitting red, green, or blue light according to current. The OLED 60includes a first electrode 61 disposed on the passivation layer 34. Thefirst electrode 61 is electrically connected to the exposed source/drainelectrode 43 of the TFT 40.

A pixel-defining layer 35 is formed to cover the first electrode 61. Anopening is formed in the pixel-defining layer 35, and an organic layer63 including an emission layer (EML) is formed in a region defined bythe opening. A second electrode 62 is formed on the organic layer 63.

The pixel-defining layer 35, which defines individual pixels, is formedof an organic material. The pixel-defining layer 35 also planarizes thesurface of a region of the substrate 30 in which the first electrode 61is formed, and in particular, the surface of the passivation layer 34.

The first electrode 61 and the second electrode 62 are insulated fromeach other, and respectively apply voltages of opposite polarities tothe organic layer 63 to induce light emission.

The organic layer 63, including an EML, may be formed of a low-molecularweight organic material or a high-molecular weight organic material.When a low-molecular weight organic material is used, the organic layer63 may have a single or multi-layer structure including a hole injectionlayer (HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL), the EML, an electrontransport layer (ETL), and/or an electron injection layer (EIL).Non-limiting examples of available organic materials may include copperphthalocyanine (CuPc), N,N′-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-diphenyl-benzidine(NPB), and tris-8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum (Alq₃).

The organic layer 63 including an EML may be formed using the organiclayer deposition apparatus 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8. That is,an organic layer deposition apparatus including a deposition source thatdischarges a deposition material, a deposition source nozzle unit thatis disposed at a side of the deposition source and includes a pluralityof deposition source nozzles formed therein, and a patterning slit sheetthat faces the deposition source nozzle unit and includes a plurality ofpatterning slits formed therein is disposed spaced apart by a set orpredetermined distance from a substrate on which the deposition materialis to be deposited. In addition, the deposition material discharged fromthe organic layer deposition apparatus 1 (refer to FIG. 1) is depositedon the substrate 2 (refer to FIG. 1) while the organic layer depositionapparatus 1 and the substrate 2 are moved relative to each other.

After the organic layer 63 is formed, the second electrode 62 may beformed by the same deposition method as used to form the organic layer63.

The first electrode 61 may function as an anode, and the secondelectrode 62 may function as a cathode. Alternatively, the firstelectrode 61 may function as a cathode, and the second electrode 62 mayfunction as an anode. The first electrode 61 may be patterned tocorrespond to individual pixel regions, and the second electrode 62 maybe formed to cover all the pixels.

The first electrode 61 may be formed as a transparent electrode or areflective electrode. Such a transparent electrode may be formed ofindium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), orindium oxide (In₂O₃). Such a reflective electrode may be formed byforming a reflective layer from silver (Ag), magnesium (Mg), aluminum(Al), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), neodymium(Nd), iridium (Ir), chromium (Cr) or a compound thereof and forming alayer of ITO, IZO, ZnO, or In₂O₃ on the reflective layer. The firstelectrode 61 may be formed by forming a layer by, for example,sputtering, and then patterning the layer by, for example,photolithography.

The second electrode 62 may also be formed as a transparent electrode ora reflective electrode. When the second electrode 62 is formed as atransparent electrode, the second electrode 62 is used as a cathode. Tothis end, such a transparent electrode may be formed by depositing ametal having a low work function, such as lithium (Li), calcium (Ca),lithium fluoride/calcium (LiF/Ca), lithium fluoride/aluminum (LiF/Al),aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), magnesium (Mg), or a compound thereof on asurface of the organic layer 63 and forming an auxiliary electrode layeror a bus electrode line thereon from ITO, IZO, ZnO, In₂O₃, or the like.When the second electrode 62 is formed as a reflective electrode, thereflective layer may be formed by depositing Li, Ca, LiF/Ca, LiF/Al, Al,Ag, Mg, or a compound thereof on the entire surface of the organic layer63. The second electrode 62 may be formed using the same depositionmethod as used to form the organic layer 63 described above.

The organic layer deposition apparatuses according to the embodiments ofthe present invention described above may be applied to form an organiclayer or an inorganic layer of an organic TFT, and to form layers fromvarious materials.

As described above, the one or more embodiments of the present inventionprovide organic layer deposition apparatuses that are suitable for usein the mass production of a large substrate and enable high-definitionpatterning, methods of manufacturing organic light-emitting displaydevices by using the same, and organic light-emitting display devicesmanufactured using the methods.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the following claims, andequivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. An organic layer deposition apparatus comprising:a conveyer unit comprising a transfer unit for fixing a substrate andconfigured to move along with the substrate, a first conveyer unit formoving in a first direction the transfer unit on which the substrate isfixed, and a second conveyer unit for moving in a direction opposite tothe first direction the transfer unit from which the substrate isseparated after deposition has been completed; and a deposition unitcomprising a chamber maintained in a vacuum state and at least oneorganic layer deposition assembly for depositing an organic layer on thesubstrate fixed on the transfer unit, the transfer unit comprises: acarrier comprising a contactless power supply (CPS) module; and anelectrostatic chuck fixedly coupled to the carrier to fix the substrate,the transfer unit is configured to circulate between the first conveyerunit and the second conveyer unit, and the substrate fixed on thetransfer unit is configured to be spaced apart from the organic layerdeposition assembly by a set distance while being transferred by thefirst conveyer unit.
 2. The organic layer deposition apparatus of claim1, wherein a charging track is on a location corresponding to the CPSmodule in the second conveyer unit so that a magnetic field is formedbetween the charging track and the CPS module when the carrier isconveyed in the second conveyer unit and an electric power is suppliedto the CPS module in a non-contact manner.
 3. The organic layerdeposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first conveyer unitcomprises a pair of guide rails that are formed in parallel with eachother and guide blocks coupled to the guide rails.
 4. The organic layerdeposition apparatus of claim 3, wherein a charging track is in theguide rail at a portion corresponding to the CPS module so that amagnetic field is formed between the charging track and the CPS modulewhen the carrier is conveyed in the first conveyer unit and an electricpower is supplied to the CPS module in a non-contact manner.
 5. Theorganic layer deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein an iron chuck foradsorbing the substrate is further formed at a side of the electrostaticchuck, and the iron chuck is configured to contact the substrate.
 6. Theorganic layer deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein the firstconveyer unit and the second conveyer unit are configured to passthrough the deposition unit.
 7. The organic layer deposition apparatusof claim 1, wherein the first conveyer unit and the second conveyer unitare respectively arranged above and below in parallel to each other. 8.The organic layer deposition apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: aloading unit for fixing the substrate on the transfer unit; and anunloading unit for separating, from the transfer unit, the substrate onwhich the deposition has been completed while passing through thedeposition unit.
 9. The organic layer deposition apparatus of claim 8,wherein the first conveyer unit is configured to sequentially convey thetransfer unit into the loading unit, the deposition unit, and theunloading unit.
 10. The organic layer deposition apparatus of claim 8,wherein the second conveyer unit is configured to sequentially conveythe transfer unit into the unloading unit, the deposition unit, and theloading unit.
 11. The organic layer deposition apparatus of claim 1,wherein the organic layer deposition assembly comprises: a depositionsource for discharging a deposition material; a deposition source nozzleunit at a side of the deposition source and comprising a plurality ofdeposition source nozzles; and a patterning slit sheet facing thedeposition source nozzle unit and comprising a plurality of patterningslits arranged along a direction, wherein the deposition source isconfigured to discharge the deposition material to pass through thepatterning slit sheet to be deposited on the substrate in a certainpattern.
 12. The organic layer deposition apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe patterning slit sheet of the organic layer deposition assembly isformed smaller than the substrate in at least any one of the firstdirection and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.13. The organic layer deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein amagnetic rail is on a surface of the carrier, each of the first conveyerunit and the second conveyer unit comprises a plurality of coils,wherein the magnetic rail and the plurality of coils are combinedtogether to constitute an operation unit for generating a driving forceto move the transfer unit.
 14. The organic layer deposition apparatus ofclaim 13, wherein the first conveyer unit comprises guide members eachcomprising an accommodation groove, wherein the respective accommodationgrooves are configured to accommodate both sides of the transfer unit,to guide the transfer unit to move in the first direction; and amagnetically suspended bearing that is configured to suspend thetransfer unit from the accommodation grooves so as to move the transferunit in a non-contact manner with the accommodation grooves.
 15. Theorganic layer deposition apparatus of claim 14, wherein the magneticallysuspended bearing comprises side magnetically suspended bearingsarranged on both side surfaces of the carrier and upper magneticallysuspended bearings arranged above the carrier.
 16. A method ofmanufacturing an organic light-emitting display device by using anorganic layer deposition apparatus for forming an organic layer on asubstrate, the method comprising: conveying, into a chamber, a transferunit on which a substrate is fixed, by using a first conveyer unitinstalled to pass through the chamber, wherein the transfer unitcomprises a carrier comprising: a contactless power supply (CPS) module;and an electrostatic chuck fixedly coupled to the carrier to fix thesubstrate; forming an organic layer by depositing a deposition materialdischarged from an organic layer deposition assembly on the substratewhile the substrate is moved relative to the organic layer depositionassembly with the organic layer deposition assembly in the chamber beingspaced apart from the substrate by a set distance; and conveying thetransfer unit from which the substrate is separated to a loading unit byusing a second conveyer unit installed to pass through the chamber,wherein the electrostatic chuck is charged by the CPS module while thetransfer unit is conveyed in the conveying of the transfer unit by thefirst conveyer unit, the forming of the organic layer, and/or theconveying of the transfer unit by the second conveyer unit.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, wherein in the charging of the electrostatic chuckby the CPS module, a charging track is formed in the second conveyerunit at a location corresponding to the CPS module so that a magneticfield is formed between the charging track and the CPS module to supplyan electric power to the CPS module in a non-contact manner when thecarrier is conveyed in the second conveyer unit.
 18. The method of claim16, wherein the first conveyer unit comprises a pair of guide rails thatare formed in parallel with each other, and guide blocks coupled to theguide rails.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein a charging track isformed in the guide rails at a location corresponding to the CPS moduleso that a magnetic field is formed between the charging track and theCPS module to supply an electric power to the CPS module in anon-contact manner when the carrier is conveyed in the first conveyerunit.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the electrostatic chuckfurther comprises an iron chuck formed at a side of the electrostaticchuck for adsorbing the substrate, and the substrate contacts the ironchuck.
 21. The method of claim 16, further comprising: fixing thesubstrate on the transfer unit in a loading unit before conveying thetransfer unit by the first conveyer unit; and separating the substrateon which the depositing has been completed from the transfer unit in anunloading unit before conveying the transfer unit by the second conveyerunit.
 22. The method of claim 16, wherein the transfer unit iscyclically moved between the first conveyer unit and the second conveyerunit.
 23. The method of claim 16, wherein the first conveyer unit andthe second conveyer unit are respectively arranged above and below inparallel to each other.
 24. The method of claim 16, wherein the organiclayer deposition assembly comprises: a deposition source discharging adeposition material; a deposition source nozzle unit disposed at a sideof the deposition source and comprises a plurality of deposition sourcenozzles; and a patterning slit sheet facing the deposition source nozzleunit and comprising a plurality of patterning slits arranged along asecond direction perpendicular to a first direction, wherein thedeposition material discharged from the deposition source passes throughthe patterning slit sheet to be deposited on the substrate in a certainpattern.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the patterning slit sheetof the organic layer deposition assembly is formed smaller than thesubstrate in at least any one of the first direction and the seconddirection.
 26. An organic light-emitting display device comprising: asubstrate; at least one thin film transistor on the substrate andcomprises a semiconductor active layer, a gate electrode insulated fromthe semiconductor active layer, and source and drain electrodes eachcontacting the semiconductor active layer; a plurality of pixelelectrodes on the thin film transistor; a plurality of organic layers onthe plurality of the pixel electrodes; and a counter electrode on theplurality of organic layers, wherein a length of a hypotenuse of atleast one of the plurality of organic layers on the substrate fartherfrom a center of a deposition region is larger than lengths ofhypotenuses of those other organic layers formed closer to the center ofthe deposition region, and wherein the at least one of the plurality oforganic layers on the substrate is a linearly-patterned organic layerformed using the organic layer deposition apparatus of claim
 1. 27. Theorganic light-emitting display device of claim 26, wherein the substratehas a size of 40 inches or more.
 28. The organic light-emitting displaydevice of claim 26, wherein the plurality of organic layers comprise atleast an emission layer.
 29. The organic light-emitting display deviceof claim 26, wherein the plurality of organic layers have a non-uniformthickness.
 30. The organic light-emitting display device of claim 26,wherein in each of the organic layers formed farther from the center ofthe deposition region, a hypotenuse farther from the center of thedeposition region is larger than the other hypotenuse.
 31. The organiclight-emitting display device of claim 26, wherein the further one ofthe plurality of organic layers in the deposition region is from thecenter of the deposition region, the narrower an overlapped region oftwo sides of the one of the plurality of organic layers is formed. 32.The organic light-emitting display device of claim 26, whereinhypotenuses of the organic layer disposed at the center of thedeposition region have substantially the same length.
 33. The organiclight-emitting display device of claim 26, wherein the plurality oforganic layers in the deposition region are symmetrically arranged aboutthe center of the deposition region.